“Money’s not the issue,” he said quietly. He looked around the room. “I’m fifty-nine, Brooke. I’ve been thinking maybe I should slow down my work schedule. Not retire, not yet, but maybe not take on any new clients.”
“I guess that’s understandable,” Brooke said, trying not to show her disappointment. “Okay. I’m sure I can find somebody else locally.”
“Oh, what the hell,” Gabe said. “Who am I kidding? I’m selling this place because I never come down here. Work is what I do. Tell you what. Talk to your client, and if she agrees, I’ll come down and talk to her and get the ball rolling on the trust.”
“Really?” Brooke threw her arms around her old boss in an impulsive hug. “That would be awesome! We’ll be working together again. It’ll be just like old times.”
“We’ll see,” Gabe said, patting her back awkwardly. “We’ll see.”
20
Josephine was standing in the front door at Shellhaven, leaning heavily on a cane. She was dressed in baggy khaki slacks cinched with a worn leather belt and a tucked-in long-sleeved pale pink blouse. A baseball cap with the Audubon Society logo shaded most of her face. With a shock, Brooke realized it was the first time she’d seen her client standing upright and outside the confines of the library-turned-bedroom. It was Monday afternoon.
Shug pulled the pickup truck in front of the door, and Brooke got out. She’d called the house on Sunday, during her drive back from Sea Island, to let Josephine know she wanted to come see her, and Louette had promised to give her the message.
Even before the old lady opened her mouth, Brooke sensed she was in a rare mood.
Shug leaned out the driver’s-side window. “Hey, Miss Josephine,” he said, also obviously startled by the boss lady’s miraculous transformation. “Ain’t you lookin’ perky today.”
“Hello, Shug,” Josephine said. She nodded at Brooke. “So you changed your mind. Needed the money, is that it?”
“No. Well, sort of. My son had surgery recently, and my insurance is crappy.”
“Surgery? What’s wrong with the boy?”
“He fell off a jungle gym and broke his arm in two places.”
It didn’t miss Brooke’s attention that the old lady hadn’t offered any empathy or condolences for her son’s injury. Not that she’d expected any.
“You must be feeling better,” Brooke observed. “I’m glad.”
Louette peeked out from the spot where she’d been standing at Josephine’s elbow.
“She’s got some new medicine making her feel way better.”
“Steroids.” Josephine grimaced. “They don’t cure anything, but I’ll admit my breathing is much improved. Although they make me feel like I’m about to jump out of my skin.”
“She’s eating way better,” Louette confided. “Sleeps better too.”
“Shug,” Josephine called to her handyman. “Just leave the truck right there. I want to take Brooke around and show her the island while I have the energy.”
His amiable face showed his alarm. “For real? You don’t need to bother about that, Miss Josephine. I can take her anyplace you want her to see.”
“Not necessary,” Josephine said firmly. She turned to Brooke. “I assume you can drive a stick shift? I know how, of course. But it might be better if I navigate and you drive.”
“I know how to drive a stick,” Brooke said.
“All right, then,” Shug said reluctantly. He slid out from behind the steering wheel and held the door open, then ran around and helped Josephine onto the passenger seat.
“Ready?”
Josephine’s face was pink with exertion, and she was breathing heavily as she adjusted the portable oxygen canister hanging from a strap on her shoulder.
She pointed toward the end of the driveway. “Down there, then take a sharp left where the road forks.”
***
The old woman directed her driver on a road that took them toward the state park and nature center. The blacktop was crumbling in places and pitted withpotholes. Wooden directional signs pointed toward a bathhouse, wilderness camping area, wildlife interpretive center, and conference center.
